chapman



(No Model.) W. H. CHAPMAN.

GOMMUTATOR FOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS. No. 278,881. Patented June 5,1883.

Him-M l I I I UW'H I H 1! w w {w A 1 1+ 11 A n MM] rm T L .H A I H I! w I Y Q'M Witnesses: Inventor: m ogmwb A 1 UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.-

KVILLIAM H. CHAPMAN, OF MIDDLEBURY, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TO CHARLES C. PEOK, OF SAME PLACE.

COM-MUTATOR FOR ELECTRIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,881, dated June 5, 1883.

Application filed January 15, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM H. CHAPMAN, of Middlebury, in the county of Addison and State of Vermont, have invented a new and 5 useful Improvement in Oommutators for Electrical Apparatus, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification. v

- My present invention relates to that class of IO commutators in which one or more leaf-springs confined at their ends are arranged to 11 ve their central portions alternately sprung in opposite directions to make and break connections in different electric circuits, and is an 15 improvement upon the commutator described in the Letters Patent No. 267,711, granted to Charles C. Peck and myself November 21, 1882. In the device described in the patent above cited the leaf-springs, which were sprung in opposite directions to make and break electric connections, were connected to their spring supports only by a sort of interlocking arrangement of notches, which has been found to be objectionable on account of the wear of 2 5 the contact-surfaces, which after a while would so affect the endwise pressure upon the leafsprings as to render their operation unreliable.- To obviate this objection is the object of my present invention and it consists in making 0 the leaf-spring and its spring-supports in one piece, or so connecting said spring and sup ports, by riveting and soldering or otherwise, as to make them practically one piece, or so that there shall be no working of one part 3 5 upon the other to cause wear that shall militate against the successful operation of the commutator-spring.

It further consists in a novel construction and arrangement of the contact-surfaces with which the leaf-springs engage to close the cir cuits, which will be best understood by reference to the description of the drawings, and to the claims, to be hereinafter given.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan of a commutator illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical transverse section on line as as on Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is an elevation of one of the commutatorsprings and its supports made in one piece.

A is, the metallic plate or bed of the apparatus, upon the upper surface of which is pivoted at a the hard-rubber bar 13, carrying in,

its opposite end the pin 1), which maybe acted upon by the armature of a magnet, or a lever operated thereby, to vibrate said bar 13 about its center a and between the stop-pins c c.

C and C are fiat leafsprings connected to the supports D and D by means of shanks turned on the ends of said supports and pass ing through holes drilled in the ends of said springs, said shanks having their ends riveted down upon said springs, as shown at d in Fig. 1, and then soldered so as to make each spring 0 or O and its supports D or D practically one piece; or each of the springs and its supports may be actually made from a single piece of metal, as shown in Fig. 4, the supports D and D being set in the rubber bar B, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The commutatorsprings C C are pro'vided at their centers with platinum contact points, and are otherwise constructed, except as to their attachments to their supports D D, substantially in the same manner as in the Letters Patent before cited.

Two L-shaped contact-pieces, c and f, are

secured to the bed-plate A, in metallic contact piece, g, is secured to the piece 6 by the bolt h v and nut 71 but insulated from said bolt and the piece 0 by the pieces of hard rubber w and i, respectively, all as shown in Fig. The inner faces of the contact-pieces c and f and both faces of the contact-piece g are faced with platinum in the same manner as described in the Letters Patent before cited.

flVires k, I, m, and a connect the several parts of the commutator with the magnets armature and battery with which it is to be used, which is more fully described in another application of even date herewith for a patent for electric motor made by Chas. O. Peck and myself, and as said connections i'orm no part of my present invention they need not be further described here.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

- 1. In an electric commutator, the leaf-spring C or C, rigidly connected to or made in one piece with its supports 1) 01' D, substantially as and for the purpeses described.

2. The combination of the leafspi'ings U and C, the contact-pieces e and f, secured to and in metallic contact with the bed A, and the contact-piece g, secured to but insulated from the piece 0, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses, on this 13th day 0 t J {1111\- ary, A. D. 1883.

*M. H. ()HAPMAX. \Yitnesses E. A. Hninmmvii'y, HI/r121: E. LOMBARD. 

